18-year-old arrested in shooting that killed boy, hurt 5
CLEVELAND (AP) — A fourth person has been arrested in connection with a Cleveland shooting that killed a 12-year-old boy and wounded five teenagers outside a row of stores.
Police say an 18-year-old wanted on an aggravated murder warrant was taken into custody Friday.
Cleveland.com reports that court records accuse him of firing the shots that killed Abdel Bashiti, a seventh-grader from Parma.
The boy was with his father when they walked outside their family’s beauty supply store after the shooting began.
Two 15-year-old boys and a 21-year-old woman also have been arrested in connection with the shooting on Nov. 24.
Police say at least 20 shots were fired at a group of teenage boys standing outside a liquor store. Five were wounded.
Northeast Ohio city employees find body parts in ravine
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — City employees in northeast Ohio have found human body parts in a ravine.
The parts were found Thursday while Youngstown wastewater employees were checking manhole covers. A Youngstown police lieutenant says the workers check manholes about once a month, making it difficult to determine how long the remains might have been there.
Lt. Doug Bobovnyik says authorities are unsure whether it’s a man or a woman because not all of the parts have been found.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office in Cleveland will try to identify the person.
Bobovnyik says police will review missing reports for clues to the person’s identity.
Man gets life for slaying of teen recruited to rob bank
CLEVELAND (AP) — A 20-year-old Cleveland gang member has been sentenced to life in prison for killing a 17-year-old girl he wanted silenced after helping recruit her to rob a bank.
Cleveland.com reports prosecutors say Kiechaun Newell lured Breanna Fluitt from her East Cleveland home and shot her in the back after surveillance photos from the October 2016 robbery were made public. Newell’s mother contacted police after hearing him brag about the slaying.
Newell apologized during Thursday’s sentencing in Cleveland and said he accepted the jury’s verdict. Yet he also maintained his innocence and said he planned to appeal his aggravated murder conviction.
A defense attorney said Newell had a traumatic childhood.
Co-defendant Jeffrey Doss trial is scheduled for trial in February. He’s pleaded not guilty to aggravated murder and other charges.
Ohio man gets prison for cocaine overdose death of boy, 9
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio man has been sentenced to prison for the cocaine overdose death of his girlfriend’s 9-year-old son.
The Vindicator reports 38-year-old Kevin Gamble, of Youngstown, was sentenced Thursday in Mahoning County to 4 ½ years in prison after pleading guilty in October to involuntary manslaughter and endangering children charges.
Prosecutors say Marcus Lee, the son of Gamble’s girlfriend, died Dec. 26 after ingesting a large amount of cocaine belonging to Gamble, a convicted drug trafficker. The boy’s mother, Raenell Allen, told investigators Gamble was dealing drugs when Marcus died.
Gamble cried and expressed remorse at Thursday’s sentencing but denied responsibility for Marcus’ death saying investigators used him as a “scapegoat” because of his criminal record.
Allen pleaded guilty in October to child endangering. She’s scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.
Vandals destroy windows at future domestic violence shelter
DELAWARE, Ohio (AP) — Police are searching for suspects that broke more than 20 windows at a domestic violence shelter under construction in central Ohio.
Authorities say a contractor discovered the damage Nov. 23 at the site in Delaware County.
Paula Roller, executive director of the agency Turning Point, says the suspects broke a window to gain entry and then smashed more windows inside the building.
Turning Point is building the shelter, which will be the only one in the area when it opens. The shelter is expected to house about 50 people.
Roller tells WBNS-TV the damage is estimated at $6,000. She says the shelter was already about $1 million short of its fundraising goal before the vandalism occurred.
The shelter is scheduled to open in April 2018.
Postal worker charged with stealing cancer nonprofit’s check
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio postal worker is facing a felony charge after police say she stole a check intended to help children diagnosed with cancer.
Reniece Tatum, of Copley Township, says she was waiting for the $414 check from a Chipotle fundraiser for her charity Dream A Wig. The nonprofit organization helps create wigs for children who lost their hair during chemotherapy treatments.
When the check never arrived, Tatum called the restaurant who told her it had already been cashed.
Authorities say 23-year-old Shanae Bingham used a mobile app to deposit the check into her bank account. Police charged the Akron woman Thursday with felony theft.
The Akron Beacon Journal reports Bingham has been suspended from the post office.
She was unavailable Thursday for comment. It’s unclear if she has an attorney.
Students sue university over their anti-abortion display
CINCINNATI (AP) — University students have sued their Ohio school over an anti-abortion protest display they wanted to set up.
Attorneys for Alliance Defending Freedom filed the lawsuit this week against Miami University on behalf of Students for Life. The lawsuit alleges Miami officials violated the students’ free speech rights by effectively shutting down their display of crosses at Miami’s Hamilton campus.
The lawsuit says the group has regularly conducted the display, along with an explanatory sign. It alleges a Miami official refused to allow it this year, unless warning signs about its content were posted around campus.
Miami spokeswoman Claire Wagner says the lawsuit appears to have resulted from an unfortunate misunderstanding, and Miami will “address any potential mistake.”
The lawsuit seeks changes to university policy and unspecified monetary damages.
